Mass Effect 2 gameplay thread

**Ironside** · 02-02-2010, 09:25

Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

It's also a group which spent a lot of the last game trying to kill my Shepard and crew, and which killed people she knew and liked. And she joins up because the man in charge of the organisation claims they are doing good against an unsubstantiated threat. She doesn't question much, she doesn't demand proof, she doesn't try to join any alternate group, and she doesn't even question their improbable story about the Lazerus project. No, she just nods her little head and goes "Ok." Brain damaged.

I think that you end up with plenty (I suspect more than two) of your old crew members, makes the transition a bit more easy. If plenty of your old crew joins a faction that tried to kill them earlier, they probably had a good reason. And they can comfirm that the Lazerous project is what they say it is.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

And you get the idea that the council wouldn't help you with any more resources than what you already got (spectre status+ ship with crew+ better intel).
You can be quite clear that it's an alliance of convenience (well rather desperation) during several conversations if you want to as well.
So stretching, but not brain damaged.

**rajpoot** · 02-02-2010, 10:33

When I tried the planetary scanning mini game, the first thought I had was that the chaps over at Bioware had done it out of spite, to make all the critics of ME1's Mako relent their comments. Then I remembered that it was Bioware and they're a decent lot who make nice games, so they must have had other reasons....
Anyway,
Likes -
The story.
The larger number of companions.
The way ME1's small decisions actually matter (I wish I had my own save games....)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Dislikes -
New combat system.
Ammo system.
The new mini games.....give me the old one any day.
Lack of inventory.

Mass Effect wasn't about the combat, it was about the nice story and the characters......they shouldn't have changed that....I mean the characters are still pretty engaging, but the combat has become rather complicated for my tastes....

**frogbeastegg** · 02-02-2010, 18:51

The best tip for the planetry scan mini game is to tap the scan button instead of holding it while moving the cursor about. Makes it all go much faster. Also check the research console after recruiting the assassin ...

To be clear, I dislike the Cerberus thing at the start because Shepard does not have good motivation at the time when she signs up, not because I don't want to play along. It's an idea that has a lot of potential, and I hate the fact it starts out with a great big "DUR!" and then has to spend hours recovering from that.

Originally Posted by Ironside

I think that you end up with plenty (I suspect more than two) of your old crew members, makes the transition a bit more easy. If plenty of your old crew joins a faction that tried to kill them earlier, they probably had a good reason.

If anything I find that makes it worse. None of my crew have given me a truly sound reason for joining. I hear a lot of "I'm here because you're here." and "Didn't get to run off and hunt reapers, and this untrustworthy organisation said that they would so I swapped sides because everyone knows liars can be believed." or "Cerberus has cool toys, wee!" She doesn't get to meet them until after she's signed the dotted line, either.

From Shepard's POV at the start of the game, she's got nothing to work on other than the word of a guy she should not trust, and the fact she's being kept - or held - in a medical facility by an organisation that does nasty experiments on living people. If anything it would be natural for her to assume she was a prisoner and had been tortured or experimented on. Especially with that first wake up scene, which she remembers when she wakes up the second time. And the logical, immediate source of a pick up ship is the only other ship she knew to be in the area at the time. That would be her attacker. Shepard is eager and happy to take Cerberus' word for everything. She isn't given proof of anything at this point; the Illusive Man could be doing the old "[lie]Yes, we fight to save the galaxy!" dialogue option for all she knows.

She has absolutely no reason to trust the Illusive Man, and no reason to roll over and play ball so quickly. But the dialogue choices are "Ok!" and "Ok, cool!" No option for even a token refusal.

And you get the idea that the council wouldn't help you with any more resources than what you already got (spectre status+ ship with crew+ better intel).

For a paragon Shepard that's all the more reason to baulk at joining. Besides, it's the Illusive Man who tells her that. Would he say otherwise at that time?

ou can be quite clear that it's an alliance of convenience (well rather desperation) during several conversations if you want to as well.

Only after I'd joined up and done some missions. At the start, when it would have made the most sense, I couldn't question at all. I got to be more sceptical about joining the Spectres in the first game than I did about signing up with Cerberus.

**Crazed Rabbit** · 02-03-2010, 04:45

Is there any way to remove those vastly moronic red veins that infest your screen whenever you get critically injured?!

I just quit w/o saving because I absolutely could not stand them.

EDIT: Oh, SON OF A *#@)($&@(%)*&(. Apparently there's no way to remove it and fanboys and devs just say "Don't get shot".

Were I a violent man and they in the same room, I'd shoot them in the kneecaps.

SECOND EDIT: And then I'd say, "Oh, don't like it? Don't get shot."

CR

**Mailman653** · 02-03-2010, 05:06

If you have the PC version, maybe you can find a mod for it?

**Crazed Rabbit** · 02-03-2010, 05:23

Originally Posted by Mailman653

If you have the PC version, maybe you can find a mod for it?

I'm looking, haven't found anything yet. I'm still hoping there's just some file I can delete and make the horribleness go away.

Seriously, I'm not playing again until I fix this. I didn't get a 1960x1080 2ms monitor just to see it covered with chicken entrails.

CR

**Beskar** · 02-03-2010, 05:36

Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit

I'm looking, haven't found anything yet. I'm still hoping there's just some file I can delete and make the horribleness go away.

Seriously, I'm not playing again until I fix this. I didn't get a 1960x1080 2ms monitor just to see it covered with chicken entrails.

CR

Could be worse, you could get shot once then have to wait around in the medical ward for a few hours for some stitches, etc, then get charged $500 or so for the service. Could be an expensive line of work.

**Crazed Rabbit** · 02-03-2010, 05:54

Originally Posted by Beskar

Could be worse, you could get shot once then have to wait around in the medical ward for a few hours for some stitches, etc, then get charged $500 or so for the service. Could be an expensive line of work.

Well thanks for that tremendously insightful remark. Yes, of course, getting shot in real life would be painful.

That's why I do those things in video games, where it is not painful. If the devs make it painful, then I. Don't. Want. To. Play.

I haven't found anything about removing that bile spewed on my screen, so I'm putting the game away and coming back in a week to see if a mod that will make it bearable for me to play has been released.

CR

**a completely inoffensive name** · 02-03-2010, 09:03

Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit

Is there any way to remove those vastly moronic red veins that infest your screen whenever you get critically injured?!

I just quit w/o saving because I absolutely could not stand them.

EDIT: Oh, SON OF A *#@)($&@(%)*&(. Apparently there's no way to remove it and fanboys and devs just say "Don't get shot".

Were I a violent man and they in the same room, I'd shoot them in the kneecaps.

SECOND EDIT: And then I'd say, "Oh, don't like it? Don't get shot."

CR

How did you survive playing Gears of War and Call of Duty?